Madison graduate decides to pursue NBA

Scott to leave Notre Dame, wants to prove analysts incorrect.

Dan McCarne, express-news

By Dan McCarneydmccarney@express-news.net

Updated 7:26 am, Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Notre Dame forward Carleton Scott, who is 6-foot-8, 218 pounds, was the 2007 E-N Area Player of the Year. He averaged 11.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game as a junior last season with the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame forward Carleton Scott and Florida State guard Luke Loucks, right, battle for a loose ball in the first half of a third-round NCAA Southwest Regional tournament college basketball game in Chicago, Sunday, March 20, 2011.

Nortre Dame's Carleton Scott, a junior forward from Madison, dunks against Georgetown's Chris Wright (4) and Jerrelle Benimon (20) during on Feb. 27. Scott is one of five area grads playing in the men's NCAA tournament.

Nortre Dame's Carleton Scott, a junior forward from Madison, dunks...

Nortre Dame's Carleton Scott, a junior from Madison, goes for a dunk against Georgetown's Julian Vaughn (22) and Austin Freeman (15) on Feb. 27. Scott's play in the second half of the season helped push the Irish (23-11) into the NCAA tournament.

Nortre Dame's Carleton Scott, a junior from Madison, goes for a...

Nortre Dame's Carleton Scott (right), the 2007 Express-News Player of the Year at Madison, fights for the ball against Georgetown's Greg Monroe on Feb. 27. A year after scoring 50 points total, Scott averaged 4.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, made a team-high 35 blocks and made 17 of 49 3-pointers for the Irish.

Nortre Dame's Carleton Scott (right), the 2007 Express-News Player...

Notre Dame forward Carleton Scott (left), a junior from Madison, applies pressure to Marquette's David Cubillan on March 6. Heading into today's NCAA tournament game against Old Dominion, Scott has made eight straight starts, averaging 9.6 points and 7.4 rebounds and making 10 of the 17 3-pointers he sank this season.

Photo: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Notre Dame forward Carleton Scott (left), a junior from Madison,...

Notre Dame's Carleton Scott, a Madison grad, rises for a dunk against Seton Hall at the Big East tournament. Scott helped the Irish win twice at Madison Square Garden before falling to West Virginia in the semifinals.

Photo: 2010 Getty Images

Notre Dame's Carleton Scott, a Madison grad, rises for a dunk...

Notre Dame forward Carleton Scott, a junior from Madison, dunks in the Irish's 51-50 first-round loss at the NCAA tournament on March 18. Scott had 14 points and 10 rebounds in the game, and he missed a 3-pointer near the buzzer that would have tied the game.

Notre Dame forward Carleton Scott, a junior from Madison, dunks in...

Old Dominion forward Keyon Carter (left) and Notre Dame forward Carleton Scott, a junior from Madison, race for a loose ball during ODU's 51-50 victory over the Irish on March 18.

Old Dominion forward Keyon Carter (left) and Notre Dame forward...

Notre Dame forward Carleton Scott, a junior from Madison, walks off the court after missing a 3-pointer that would have tied the game near the buzzer in a 51-50 NCAA tournament loss to Old Dominion. ?We knew it was going to be a dogfight,? said Scott, who finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. ?They?re a great team.? Scott ended the season with three double-doubles in his last six games.

Former Madison standout Carleton Scott attacked his prospects for the NBA draft with the same academic relish he used in earning his double major in history and computer applications at Notre Dame.

After spending the past month gathering feedback and mulling his options, Scott was ready to make a decision.

Despite being projected as a second-round pick — and some analysts don't even rate him that high, if they rate him at all — Scott announced Monday that he will forgo his final year of eligibility with the Fighting Irish and officially enter the draft.

“I feel good,” said Scott, the 2007 Express-News Area Player of the Year. “A lot of pressure is relieved. I'm just ready for the next step. I'm hoping I can show people that I can do what they don't think I can do.”

According to ESPN NBA draft expert Chad Ford, Scott is “likely” to go undrafted. His scouting report describes the 6-foot-8, 218-pound Scott as a long, athletic defender who lacks offensive polish and a true position.

Multiple other draft sites don't list any profile for Scott, a versatile forward who averaged 11.2 points and 7.4 rebounds for the Irish as a junior last season.

Scott, who is believed to be the third player from the San Antonio area to declare early for the NBA following Cole's Shaquille O'Neal from LSU and Clark'sTrent Plaisted from BYU, said he agreed with Ford's assessment “to a certain extent.”

But he also indicated such appraisals might be outdated after he received positive evaluations of his performance over the weekend at a predraft combine hosted by the New Jersey Nets. Scott said the mass workout featured 44 players and representatives from nearly every NBA team.

“From the feedback I got,” he said, “I played well.”

That jibed with the information Scott said he received in the weeks after Notre Dame was eliminated from the NCAA tournament from an unnamed agent serving as an unofficial go-between with him and NBA front offices.

“My parents and I have been reaching out to any possible means of feedback,” Scott said. “We've been in contact with an agent. Everything was legal. But he's been really instrumental and helpful in this process of trying to get honest feedback from teams.”

Other factors in Scott's decision were his impending graduation and the fact that most pundits rate the talent level in this year's draft, to be held on June 23, as sub-par.

“This year being what they call a weak draft,” Scott said, “with a lot of guys coming back (to college), I felt like maybe a player like myself can make a run at it.”

The only significant detriment was the possibility of a lockout, but Scott said that wasn't significant enough for him to change his mind.

“That's a risk, but I sat down and weighed the pros and cons, so there were no sucker punches,” he said. “I've been preparing for people who wouldn't be (supportive) of my decision. But I'm very excited and ready for this next challenge.”